~Friends Forever~ Part 11 - Pg 4 - Page 4

Dear Friends,

It's Jess' Birthday today !
I'm glad that I could finish posting all previous parts by yesterday...
posting a new update today !!

I sometimes write poetry, that I usually don't share...I wrote one remembering Jess today,
so sharing with all of you.

I have been thinking of you today,

and it's a ritual that I follow everyday !!

I think of you when alone,

I think of you when talking to others,

We had shared so much, we had vented and laughed...

It just seems like yesterday !!

I have nothing left with me but memories

and a few chats with you...but still I feel that I was lucky,

To have known an angel who made my life special,

just by her presence in it... Everyday !!

We had planned so many things,

But I had never imagined that this would be the way,

That I would wish you a birthday !!

I will never stop loving you,

I will never ever forget you,

You may be staying with God in Heaven,

I will stay in touch with you in my own way !!

Happy Birthday, Jess !!

This FF and the updates are seeing this day,

just because you wanted them...

Part 11.

The Sun was at it's peak………high above…….. staring angrily at everything on the ground. The heat was scorching but it's effect was least troublesome for both Shantanu and Khanak……..as the atmosphere appeared much cooler than it actually was…………… and the breeze coming from the sea appeared to be pleasing.

Shantanu and Khanak were walking on the beach with sea waves coming and splashing on their feet after every few seconds. Khanak's skirt became wet at the rim while Shantanu was saved as he had rolled his pants till his calf. They had left their shoes way back near the restaurant…...after they had their lunch.

They had been walking for almost half an hour now.

Though they walked side by side but none of them spoke anything. It was meant to be a short walk, post lunch, but they kept walking and had come very far……..none of them wanted to turn around and go back.

The beach appeared very pretty with the sand glowing in rays of the sparkling sun …. …… as far as they could observe on one side of the sea.

Khanak could see some ships very far away in the water………lots of birds made sounds while playing about and moving in one direction. …….several kids played various games in the water and the sand………small girls were making sand-castles.

To witness all this, almost felt like a dream to Khanak……she was delighted to see all this and her face and eyes spoke of the bliss she felt.

Shaan didn't want to spoil the moment for her, as she observed…………. So he kept quiet………..and just observed her.

But there was something that she noticed and that stunned her immensely.

She saw lots of couples on the beach……. it looked as if it was an ideal place to romance ……..a paradise for honeymooners. And the atmosphere was more open and shocking than Shaan had told her……….. more outgoing than she had imagined.

She saw people clad scantily, girls wearing bikinis and shirtless guys wearing only shorts while playing in water and sand. She saw a couple exchanging a small kiss and it was a new experience for her to witness people standing and sitting so close to each other so openly.

She was an alien to this kind of environment and felt a little uncomfortable.

Shantanu sensed her uneasiness and put his hand around her shoulders and drew her closer but kept walking quietly. In almost a reflex action, she smoothly slid her hand around his waist and held him tightly.

"I never knew that a world like this exists on this earth," she whispered in a confused but positive tone, leaning on to him while walking.

He smiled, turned towards her and took her in an embrace, taking his arms around her and whispered, "The best way to avoid getting shocked is to become a part of the place where you are……."

She blushed, "Shantanu, you are always ready to find romance in everything."

"Of course……..can't you see? Romance is in the air……" he spoke huskily and bend to kiss her forehead.

Blushing profusely with a plethora of blood gushing towards her cheeks and making her skin glow in the pristine sunlight, she slowly eased herself out of his hold and said softly, "I feel…….. awkward……."

"That is what I am trying to explain darling," they started walking again, hand in hand, while he continued, "That there are a lot of things that will shock you as move about with me more frequently. More when we go abroad at foreign destinations."

"Shantanu, I am shocked even in our own country. I can only imagine, what it will be like, when we go out of India."

"Don't worry…….….it all looks absurd and strange initially. Later you start accepting it………. as it is………." He spoke with a boundless affection in his voice.

She snuggled closer to him, feeling proud of him and happy that she was with him.

She had always wanted to see the world but now all her wishes and desires seemed to appear insignificant……… The only fact that she was aware of, now, was that she just wanted to stay with Shantanu………..wherever he was, wherever he stayed and wherever he took her.

He had proved to be as responsible as she had wanted him to…….. he had proved to be a sensitive husband and she wished that everybody else should feel as proud of him as she felt. He had been striving hard to achieve that……. ..She knew that he was doing it to make her feel proud of him and to keep her happy.

The same was her mission………….

They sat near a shack………on the warm sand……… facing the sea and kept looking at the enthusiastic waves hitting the shores with an increasing passion every time they approached it……. and decreasing energy, everytime they receded.

"What are you thinking?" he asked after a while.

"Hmm…..??...Nothing…….." she spoke slowly.

"You don't want to tell..."

"No Shantanu, it isn't like that. It was something insignificant, so I thought it's just silly…….."

He looked at her eyes and smiled with a sincerity in his eyes, "I want to know even the silliest of your thoughts…….."

"I was just thinking that how differently we were brought up. Things that I find shocking and absurd…………you find them as a part of life and casual….. and not even worth considering…………. things, that I feel are a big deal, you don't even pay attention to them……..."

He laughed for a moment, "It isn't just about upbringing, Khanak. Overall experiences make a person……..and many things influence us to make our personality ……..form our opinions ……….and thoughts."

Instictively, she knew that she was going in the right direction. So without pestering him, she asked subtly, "Which experiences Shantanu?"

"Overall………everything around us………like………the city which you grow up in ……..it plays a very important role in your personality."

"I get it, I think……………What else ?"

He took her hand in his own and still looking at the sea, he spoke while thinking, "I think the education is also very important in making a personality or forming a base to your thoughts and giving you a solid platform for the character…….."

"Yeah, I know………..I agree to that……….What else?"

"Whattt Elseee ???? Are you interviewing me for a job?" he laughed and teased her.

"Please Shantanu, be serious. I really want to know. I am amazed at all this and astonished with these new things. I want to analyse, that what are the things that make two people different from each other and what are those individual experiences that make us so special……...I want to know your views."

"Okay………what else……..Mmm…….." he started thinking and then spoke, "Reading ……….how well read you are and how informed you are, always……..it definitely affects a person's thinking and persona."

"Hmm…….."

Then, he spoke in a flow, impressed at her concentration and interest, "Also…….what kind of school you went in your growing years……… which places you visited…..… …… ……….what you wanted to make of your life………which people you met and liked when you were growing up….…………..what kinds of friends you had…….." and then he stopped speaking.

She gave an inward smile and hats off to herself for hitting the nail at the right place.

He kept quiet looking at the sea and the waves while she allowed him this space. She didn't speak anything for a few minutes but kept sitting beside him with his hand held firmly in her own.

Finally, she spoke slowly, "I agree to all the above……………I had some really close friends when I was in Dhulwaadi."

He turned to her and observed her intently for a few seconds, before speaking calmly, "Do you think that I'm a fool or what?"

She squirmed and bit her lip, and spoke slowly,"What made you say so?"

"How come this sudden interest in friends?"

"Err……….." she fumbled and pressed her lips for a second but regained confidence, "I know everything else about you……..only the college life, you have never talked about……… and then we have come to attend the wedding of another friend of yours. So, I was just being inquisitive. Roshni must have been really close to you."

"No, she was just a casual friend. We didn't talk much while in college. It's just that I have been meeting her at some business events since last few months. So being in the same batch, we happened to catch up and talk more than others. I was touched when she invited us and I didn't feel like turning down the invitation, otherwise at that time she wasn't even in our gang."

"Ganggg ?" she raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth in a way that it made him laugh.

"A group of friends in college is also called a 'gang'…..and we did all the nuisance that a notorious gang would do……"

"Really ?" she sounded interested but was curtly cut off.

"Khanak, I'm just not talking about it." He told her firmly.

She protested, "You said that you will tell me. And yesterday you promised that you will share everything with me."

"We are on a vacation….. And we should try to talk about each other." He spoke softly, shifting closer to her.

"That is what I'm doing." She spoke undeterred.

"Khanak………….please…………spare me." He didn't want to talk at all and got up dusting his trousers and signalled her to get up too.

She stretched her hand and he held it with a subtle smile to help her get up. She didn't get up but exerted a tug down ……….unprepared, he staggered almost landing himself down beside her.

"What……….was……….that?" he gritted his teeth.

"I'm not going anywhere………… I have lots of time to sit and talk to you."

"Khanak………….Look……….." he wanted to tell her in clear words that he would tell her everything, but not now…….….he didn't want to spoil a holiday and his mood talking about the past.

But she was quick enough to put a finger on his lips and looking into his eyes, she spoke, calmly, "No Shantanu, 'you' look…………even if she wasn't in your gang … ……still, she was in your college and in your batch. She knew everyone in your group and all your friends. If we are attending her wedding, that means some other friends of your's might come too…….. and, also that friend of yours with whom you talked before coming here……… what was his name?...yeah, Abhijit. He was in your gang, right? So he will be there…... Everybody will be familiar to each other. They all know a lot about you. Won't I feel out of place, if I don't know about your college life, your friends, your equations with them??"

Her logic always made her appear endearing to him……. she knew how to win an argument………how to make people do what she wanted……..how to make people feel that she was right……….. But he wasn't the one to give up easily.

He assured her by kissing the finger that was placed on her lips and taking her hand in his own and sqeezing it lightly, he said, "Don't worry, I won't let you feel out of place…………. I promise."

"What if someone asks me about your 'ganggg' ?"

He smiled at the way she pronounced it…….. Unable to keep his hands off her, he took them in her hair, trying to keep a few strands away from her face and tucked them behind her ear.

"I will never leave your side…….so how will they ask you strange questions?"

"No please………..you are just not going to do any such thing………" she suddenly became worried and spoke almost ordering him to behave as she said.

"Why ?" he shrugged.

"What will people say ? Especially your friends………I don't want people to say that I sprinkled some 'black magic powder' on you………..you are just not going to behave as a hen-pecked husband..."

He was amused at her thoughts and laughed heartily.

"Please Shantanu, I'm serious. I don't want you to be all by myself…….Be free and mingle with your friends. And let me meet new people too."

He gave her a quick peck on her cheek, and said, "Okay………….so finally, I give up. Nothing on this earth can be cuter than you and I'm sure that nobody would have been able to make me talk about things, as you do."

She jumped with excitement and her eyes widened with delight, "So you are going to tell me…….."

"Yeah………. what do you want to know?"

"Everything………….everything about your college, gang, friends………..what did you do………..how they were…….."

"Patience, patience………do you even breathe in between, when you start talking?" he teased her as always.

"I can't wait to hear."

"Okay…………," he started speaking, "My college was the best college in Mumbai. Everything about it was great………the classes, the studies, the professors, the students, the building and the festivals………other than exams…….everything was perfect." He chuckled while speaking about his college.

She listened patiently and observed the changing expressions of his face while he spoke.

"Our group was the best group in the college. Everyone wanted to be close to us or maybe that's what we thought to make us feel so special. We were five – Me, Gaurav, Abhijit, Paridhi and………"

"Natashaji…….." she completed for him.

"Yeah..." he knew that it was awkward for them to discuss Natasha…….they had always avoided this. She was a part of their life that they were still not able to figure out, how to deal with……..She didn't know if it was jealousy or guilt…... discomfort or denial……but talking about Natasha made her feel uneasy. Khanak understood Natasha very well and knew that in her relationship with Shantanu, Natasha had been at the receiving end but she could only accept it as destiny and hoped that Natasha always remained happy in her life and should get someone who loved her more than anyone could….. after Natasha left, they had not discussed about her.

He let it pass even today and decided to focus on his other friends.

"You have already met Gaurav………" he spoke softly.

"He appeared so nice…………so genuine………." She spoke fondly, remembering his two meetings with Gaurav, of which she had told Shantanu about only one. She had purposefully with-held telling him about the other meeting. She knew that something strong had happened and she needed to go into the depth first.

"Don't get illusioned Khanak……….he is hardly nice or genuine. He is a dog…….." spoke Shantanu with a spark in his eyes.

"Hawww, how can you talk like this about your friend?"

"I always talk about him like that……..he was my best friend. He was always sharp, witty, stylish and intelligent……….better than me in everything. When he spoke sarcastically, no one would understand except us. He can insult someone in clear, straightforward words and be hardly bothered about that or can be warm and friendly to an extent that at that time, he appears as the only person in the world who can take care of you."

"Seems like an interesting person…….." she just wanted to keep him going, now that he had started speaking.

"Yeah………..He was an interesting personality………..fun filled, sharp-witted, classy, suave, sensible and extremely honest……… We were like shadows to each other. We used to spend a lot of time with each other…..."

Khanak was so thrilled to hear of the description about Gaurav that she was almost tempted to ask about what went wrong between them that they don't even talk to each other now.

If it touched her so much, and was paining her to this extent…….then she could only imagine Shantanu's state of mind when he talked about someone, who was his best friend, at one point of time………and wasn't even in touch nowadays.

But she stopped herself from asking him about that, no matter how eager she was to know, as she didn't want to talk to him about the 'wrong' incidents right now.

He was happy and free talking about his friends, and she decided to let him rejoice in that. She still had to know about the other two………Paridhi and Abhijit.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Paridhi was sitting on her bed with her towel and clothes in her hand. Since an hour, she had been contemplating about taking a bath but she hadn't gone inside the washroom even now.

Not only this, she wasn't able to do anything since morning……..maybe yesterday. Her mind and attention had deserted her after a long time.

Ever since their meeting in the morning till their little talk in the evening, Paridhi realised that her thoughts had not been coherent.

All these years, she had never let herself remember Gaurav with fondness or as a pleasant memory. She had believed that she truly hated him and hoped that they never meet. But, now she recognized that why exactly she didn't want to meet him, ever. Gaurav had an amazing command over her heart, her thoughts and her mind. Though she had always been a strong fighter in front of everybody else but behind that faade was a vunerable soul which surfaced only before him……and she hated it……..she hated him for having so much effect on her…….she hated her heart behaving like a teenager at the age of 26………she hated her heart beats fluttering and mind becoming cloudy when he was around and she wanted to punch him hard for this.

She wanted to scream at him for making her feel so weak and then insulting her by making twaddle out of her love.

Even today, she tried to keep him out of her space but failed terribly…….

Since yesterday, she had just been thinking of him……..while she talked to people, while she ate, while she tried to relax and while she tried to close her eyes to sleep.

Tired after a long journey………she had quickly finished off with the dinner yesterday and after meeting with Roshni and spending a few minutes with her. She had brought some antique jewellery that Roshni had asked her to carry……..and the first thing she did was to give everything to Roshni, so that she could plan one of her dress with the jewellery……..

Roshni talked to her about how excited she was and how happy she felt. For a moment, Paridhi had felt like kicking Abhi and Gaurav for trying to spoil this happiness that made Roshni's face glow to an unbelievable measure.

Finally, she could excuse herself to retire to her room as she had been tired after the journey. There was no news from Abhi as he was with Gaurav and Paridhi was thankful about it.

Since morning, she had wanted to get ready and go to the Panaji markets to shop about but Abhi was busy somewhere and she didn't even know where he was. Roshni was busy with her numerous relatives and Paridhi was really not interesting in joining them with their small rituals and festivities and felt a little out of place with her family. She had also planned to attend the pre-wedding dinner and the wedding.

She was still lost in her thoughts when she received a call on her phone.

"Hello……." She spoke after looking on the screen and reading Abhi's name.

"Hi Pari………..what's up ?"

"Roof…….." she spoke curtly.

"Very funny…….." Abhi laughed loudly.

"Where have you disappeared you idiot……..?? Since yesterday, you are nowhere to be seen."

"Ohh, I was with Gaurav. We were so tired……..we drove all the way. So we just had our dinner and dozed off to sleep. Got up late…….."

"Did you meet Roshni?"

"Yeah, I just met her………in fact……….I was thinking of asking if you can join us for lunch?"

"Us ????!!!!" she was surprised at the question.

"Me and Gaurav………"

"I'm surprised at your gut to ask………why do you think that I will come to join you two losers?"

He laughed again, "Paridhi, we are losers, you know that. But you are so intelligent. I thought that we would have one more mind with us to work out a plan about how we are going to expose Bhaskar, the rascal."

"WE ???!!! Are you nuts?? I was never a part of your rotten plan………"

…………………………………………………………………………..

first of all hats off to ur poem..it was awesome..now i know another doc who not only write FFs but write poems too..the other is simi..u guys r awesome..i feel so happy to know u guys n am proud to say i have such immensely talented friends..
coming to the update..nice part mani..khanak decided not to leave any stones unturned in knowing shaan's past..mainly abt his friends..their initial discussion abt the things that she saw in goa..that was very nice..but she made him talk abt his friends..but i wonder y cant shaan say "be patient khanak..i'll tell u when i'm ready"..will she pester if he says so..
but he started to talk abt friends if not all the details but definitely started to open up..n the 1st one to speak abt was his best friend gaurav..the way he discussed..i'm really waiting for shaan-gaurav's face to face..
here paridhi literally couldnt do anything as gaurav had that effect on her even after not being in touch for abt 5 yrs..seeing roshni all happy pari wondering how could abhi n gaurav think abt stopping this marriage..n abhi called at that time to ask her for lunch with them she was surprised at that..n the reason abhi gave was LOL!!!as they were losers they want an intelligent person in carrying out their plan exposing bhasker..
do continue soon mani..

hey mani thanks for this i havent read this one will make sure i complete this one soon .thanks for continuing this one

wow beautiful poem di... 👏
glad dat shaan is telling her abt his coll life...😃 n i knw khank will definatelly bring dem together...😊
n pradhi still love gaurav...
omg dey want pradhi to be part of deir rotten part...😆
superb dii luking forwad for nxt part...

diii...
awesome awesome awesome...
beautifull update...
loved it...
shanak walk on d beach... sooo cute...
loved the way how khanak brought the discussion to his friends...
their little talk was sooo cute... khanak is so cute...
obviously shaan had to give in... aftr all its khanak... ;)
khanak's feels awkward when shaan talks abt natasha... awww...
loved the way how khanak controlled and dint ask shaan abt wat went wrong wid him and gaurav... an nt spoil his mood...:))
paridhi is cuteee... awww... she is dealing wid her heart... loved the description which u gave of wat she feels...
abhi and pari's talk was sooo funny... actually abhi is sooo funny...
and d witty answers which pari gives him... lol...
they all r set to break Roshni's wedding... uff!!!
sumtyms i feel they r breaking my wedding... lol...

loved the update vry much diii...
hugsss... ? ?

amazing updates mani...enjoying it sooo much:)

Mani...I have no words...this FF is simply exquisite...don't know why you didn't like it...I loved the hindi dialogues immensely, they were sooo Shanaklicious...I don't know how I had missed it earlier...you are a brilliant writer and you know it too...I do read TP2 on your blog sometimes...I loved WLC...glad you'll be continuing with it too!!!